Brick-handling apparatus

ABSTRACT

Brick handling and stacking apparatus including a carriage mounted for movement on a gantry between a pickup station and a release station, a pickup head, mounted for vertical movement on a carriage, in the form of a plurality of platen members carried by support brackets slidably mounted on a horizontal support for movement to predetermined positions thereon, piston and cylinder units for moving the platen members along the support, and a plurality of stop members disposed at spaced positions adjacent the horizontal support.

United States Patent David John Ingram 40 Edendale Road, Barnhurst,Kent; Geoffrey James Eagles, 31 Tradescant Drive, Meopham, Kent, both ofEngland [72] lnventors [211 App]. No. 6,271

[22] Filed Jan. 27, 1970 [45] Patented Nov. 16, 1971 [32] Priority Feb.14, 1966 [33] Great Britain [31 1 6,438/66 Continuation-impart ofapplication Ser. No. 614,977, Feb. 9, 1967, now abandoned. Thisapplication Jan. 27, 1970, Ser. No. 6,27 l

[54] BRICK-HANDLING APPARATUS 10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 214/6 A, 294/62, 214/6 FS [51} Int. Cl B65g 57/04 [50] Fieldof Search 214/6, 6 A, 6 FS, 6 P; 294/62, 63, 64

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,262,594 7/1966 Teago 214/6A X 3,270,897 9/1966 Lingle 214/6 A Primary Examiner--Gerald M. ForlenzaAssistant Examiner Robert J. Spar Attorney-Craig, Antonelli, Stewart &Hill ABSTRACT: Brick handling and stacking apparatus including acarriage mounted for movement on a gantry between a pickup station and arelease station, a pickup head, mounted for vertical movement on acarriage, in the form of a plurality of platen members carried bysupport brackets slidably mounted on a horizontal support for movementto predetermined positions thereon, piston and cylinder units for movingthe platen members along the support, and a plurality of stop membersdisposed at spaced positions adjacent the horizontal support.

A PATVENTEDNBV 1s ISYI 3.6 20 3 8 3 SHEET 1 [IF 5 viii,

BRICK-HANDLING APPARATUS The present application is acontinuation-in-part of our copending application Ser. No. 614,977,filed on the 9th day of Feb. 1967, now abandoned.

This invention relates to brick-handling apparatus for progressivelybuilding up layers of bricks to forms packs, and has particular thoughnot exclusive application to building up packs of unfired bricks uponkiln cars in such patterns that the maximum cross sections of the kilnsthrough which the packs are to be passed are utilized.

Such apparatus is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,262,594and 3,297,171.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved brick-handlingapparatus of the kind referred to incorporating a simple yet efi'ectivemeans for controlling the spacing of the bricks as the packs are builtup and which has other advantages as will be apparent from the followingdescription.

According to the present invention there is provided a brick-handlingapparatus comprising a carriage mounted on a gantry for movement betweena pickup station and a release station, and a pickup head comprising aplurality of aligned platen members capable of picking up a selectivelypredetermined number of bricks disposed in longitudinal alignment at thepickup station and of releasing them at the release station wherein theplaten members are carried by support brackets which are slidablymounted on a horizontal support to permit the platen members to be movedfrom their pickup positions on the support to spaced positions along thesupport, driving means including piston and cylinder units eachassociated with a group of at least one support bracket and coupledthereto through a rope and pulley system for producing said movement ofthe platen members along the support following the engagement of thebricks by the platen members, and stop means incorporating a pluralityof axially fixed stop members disposed at spaced positions adjacent thesupport for arresting the platen members in positions corresponding tothe spaces required between the bricks released at said release station.

Such an arrangement enables an optimum spacing between the bricksforming the layers of the pack to be readily achieved, for example, toprovide adequate clearances between the bricks to encourage aircirculation through the packs as they pass through the kilns. Inaddition, splits of required dimensions may be readily formed in thepacks at desired places to further encourage said air circulation.

Preferably the stop means is in the form of a bar extending parallel tothe support and having the stop members disposed along it.

Conveniently, the stop bar may have a plurality of lines of stop membershaving different sets of spacings disposed around its axis, and the stopbar may be rotatably mounted to pennit an appropriate line of stopmembers to be brought into an operative position for arresting theplaten members in positions corresponding to the spacing of the stopmembers in that line.

Any suitable drive means capable of producing the required movement ofthe platen members may be employed which permits the members to bestopped in turn, either singly or in groups, by the respective stopmembers whilst allowing the movement of the remainder of the members tocontinue until all have been arrested in their required spacedpositions.

The arrangement may include drive means common to two or more supportbrackets and arranged so as to permit the brackets to be stopped in turnby the respective stop members while allowing the movement of theremaining bracket or brackets to continue until all have been arrestedin their required spaced positions.

The drive means may include a drive member common to said two or moresupport brackets and a differentially acting pulley system designed toprovide a continuous drive to the respective support brackets whilepermitting each to be stopped in turn by its respective stop member.

By differentially acting pulley system of pulleys with associated ropes,cables, chains or the like (hereinafter referred to simply as ropes)which permits a differential action to be achieved.

The platen members may be pivoted to the support brackets so that theyare capable of movement through between a horizontal plane and avertical plane so that the bricks carried thereby may be set down ontheir faces or edges at the release station as may be desired.

Each platen member may conveniently be provided with a least one vacuumpickup pad, the pads forming a line of pads extending parallel to thesupport bar and adapted to selectively pick up bricks from a line ofbricks presented at the pickup station and to set the bricks down in aline at the release station; however, mechanical pickup means similarlyarranged in a line may be alternatively or additionally provided ifdesired.

Thus, it will be appreciated that a brick pack would be builtupprogressively in layers and that each layer would be progressivelyformed by a number of adjacent lines of bricks by appropriatepositioning of the carriage over the release station.

Conveniently the number of movements of the carriage and pickup headbetween the pickup station and release station to form a complete layerof bricks may be reduced by providing a plurality of lines of pickuppads on the platen members which are in fixed spaced relationshipdepending upon the spacing required between the adjacent lines of bricksin the layers in which case a corresponding and cooperating plurality oflines of bricks would be present at the pickup station.

It will be appreciated with this last mentioned feature that if for anyreason it is required to vary the spacing between the plurality of linesof bricks which would normally be picked up at the pickup station, thenthe lines of bricks would be laid at the release station one line at atime and the required spacing between the lines would be controlled byappropriate positioning of the carriage over the release station.

In practice, particularly where adjacent lines of the layers of brickshave spaces therebetween, it is frequently desirable to build up thelayers of bricks so that they alternate the direction of their lines,the layers then coacting with each other to form a solid pack, and thusit is desirable to provide for relative rotation in horizontal planebetween the pickup head and the pack of bricks being formed. This isachieved in the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,262,594 and3,297,171 by providing for rotation of the head in a horizontal plane.Not only does this mean that a further mechanism has to be associatedwith the pickup head to achieve this motion but also that the carriagecarrying the head requires at least two directions of travel on thegantry in order to build up the adjacent lines of bricks of the layers.Conveniently a further feature of this invention lies in the provisionof a rotatable platform situated at the release station which can beindexed to any number of desired angular positions relative to thepickup head.

Thus, it will be appreciated that such a platform not only dispenseswith the further mechanism for the pickup head but also dispenses withthe need to provide for movement of the carriage in at least twohorizontal directions, since the adjacent lines of bricks of a layer canbe built-up irrespective of the direction of the lines by appropriateindexing of the platform.

Further, the rotatable platform may be capable of vertical up and downmovement so that the layers of bricks may be formed by raising theturntable to a position near to the horizontal plane of the pickup head,and then progressively lowering the turntable in steps as each layer isformed by an amount equivalent to the depth of the bricks of each layer.Such an arrangement would dispense with the need to provide a relativelylong vertical movement of the pickup head, which would then need only arelatively short vertical movement for engagement of the brickspresented at the pickup station.

Conveniently the arrangement includes at the pickup station a line ofsupport members on to which a corresponding number of bricks arearranged to be fed from one end of the line in abutting relationship,stop means being provided for arresting the movement of the bricks whenthe leading brick reaches the furthcrcst support member, so that priorto pickup each member then supports a respective brick.

However, it is necessary to space the bricks apart slightly in order tobring each under a respective platen member at the pickup position, thearrangement then conveniently also including separating means forproducing a uniform separation of the support members when the bricksare supported thereby so as to space apart the bricks to positionscorresponding to the pickup positions of the aligned platen members ontheir support.

If the bricks were always of precisely uniform dimensions this wouldpresent no difficulty since the support members could always beseparated by a fixed amount selected to bring each brick under arespective platen member. However, in general, the manufacturingtolerances of the brick dimensions are such that this is not normallypossible. Preferably, therefore, the separating means includes a firstdrive member designed to move said furthest support member in thedirection of feed of the bricks so as to produce an initial separationof the support members, means for stopping said movement when the bricksupported by said furthest support member occupies a positioncorresponding to the pickup position of the respective platen member,and for holding the sup port member in this position, a second drivemember designed to move the support member at the opposite end of theline in the opposite direction to produce a further separation of thesupport members, means for arresting said movement when the bricksupported by said opposite end support member occupies a positioncorresponding to the pickup position of the respective platen member,and means coupling the support members which permits them to beseparated but maintains a uniform spacing between them.

By this means the support members are always separated by an amountrelated to the length of the bricks so that each brick is brought undera respective platen member on the pickup head.

To ensure that the support members are uniformly separated to give auniform spacing between the bricks for different brick dimensions thesupports may be coupled by a lazy-tong system of coupling, oralternatively adjacent pairs of support members may be connected byequally tensioned spring couplings.

In some cases the bricks may be fed to the pickup station on edgewhereas the faces of the bricks are required to be presented to theplatens of the pickup head. In order to achieve this the pickup stationconveniently includes a main support of L-shape in cross section withthe horizontal limb of the support providing a conveyor along which thebricks are arranged to be fed, the support members being carried by theupright of the support and the arrangement being such that when thedesired number of bricks have been fed on to the pickup station, themain support is pivoted upwards about a horizontal axis to cause thebricks to rest on the respective support members, the separation of thesupport members then being effected as above described.

Conveniently the pickup station includes two lines of support membersdesigned to receive two lines of bricks, the pickup head then includingplaten members designed to engage either one or both of the two lines ofbricks as may be desired.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and furtherfeatures made apparent one embodiment of brickhandling apparatusconstructed in accordance with the invention will now be described, byway of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the machine,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the pickup head,

FIG. 3, shows diagrammatically one form of drive unit associated withthe pickup head,

FIGS. 4 and 5 show, also diagrammatically, two modified forms of drivearrangement,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the pickup headmodified for use with the drive arrangement of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the pickup station, and

FIGS. 8 to 10 illustrate the operation of the pickup station indiagrammatic form.

Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus comprises essentially a gantry 1, acarriage 2 traversable along the gentry on rails 3 between a pickupstation 4 and a release station defined by a rotatable platform 5, thetop of which lies flush with the ground over which the gantry ismounted, and a pickup head 6 carried by the carriage 2.

The gantry l is the form of an open framework comprising a pair of mainhorizo'ntal girders 7 which extend parallel to each other and providethe support for the rails 3, a pair of transverse girders 8 supportingthe ends of the girders and two pairs of uprights 9 and 11 which supportthe ends of the girders 8 and hence the girders 7 clear of the ground.

The carriage 2 comprises a rectangular support housing 12 which isprovided with rail wheels 13 and a vertical tube 14 which extendsthrough the housing 12 into a conical housing 15 mounted on top of thelatter. The carriage is arranged to be driven along the rails 3 betweenlimits in the form of overrun buffers 16 by two drive motors (not shown)mounted in the housing 12 via a rack and pinion gear arrangement, therebeing a pinion 17 associated with each motor which is arranged to engagea common rack 18 which extends along one of the girders 7 adjacent itsrail 3.

Referring also to FIG. 2, the pickup head 6 comprises generally tenaligned plate members 19 pivoted to individual support brackets 21 inwhich in turn are mounted for longitudinal sliding movement on ahorizontal support bar 22. The support bar 22 is mounted centrally ofits length to the lower end of a vertical mast 23 which is slidablymounted in the tube 14 of the carriage 2. The mast 23 is arranged to bedriven up and down in the tube 14 by a suitable hydraulic drive systemconveniently incorporating means for changing the speed of movement ofthe mast so that the pickup head may be lowered at a fast rate to thevicinity of the pickup station or the level at which bricks are to bereleased and thereafter at a slow rate to bring the pickup head intoengagement with bricks presented at the pickup station or to the levelat which the bricks are to be released. The mast 23 is nonrotatablymounted in the tube 14 such that the support bar 22 extends transverselyto the run of the girders 7. Each platen 19 is in the form of arectangular plate carrying a pair of rectangular vacuum pickup pads 24each adapted to engage a brick presented to it at the pickup station aswill subsequently be described;

for this purpose each pad is provided in its operative surface withopenings 65 which are connected to a suction pump (not shown) viaelectrically operated valve means 62 (only some of which are shown)associated with the respective pickup pads, and a flexible suction line61. The platens are thus capable of releasably supporting a pair ofbricks, the pads 24 of each pair being slightly spaced from each otherto form two lines of pads, thereby enabling the pickup head toreleasably support two parallel lines of bricks in slightly spacedrelationship. The lines of bricks will normally be picked up at thepickup station by engagement of the pickup pads with one of their setsof faces, and in order that the bricks may be set down at the releasestation either on their other set of faces or on edge as required, theplatens 19 are similarly pivoted at one of their ends to their supportbrackets 21 so as to be capable of movement through from a horizontalplane to a vertical plane, this being shown more clearly in FIG. 6; apiston and cylinder drive unit 25 is connected between each platen 19and its support member 21 for achieving this movement.

The electrically operated valve means 62 enable the number of brickspicked up by the pickup head to be varied as desired, by controlling thesuction to the different pickup pads 24, the valve means beingselectively operable remotely by any convenient electrical controlswitch system connected to the valve means 62 by flexible electriccables 63.

The support brackets 21 are mounted on the support bar 22 via slides 26so as to be capable of movement therealong. Suitable drive meansillustrated in part at 30 and which will be described in more detailhereinafter, are provided for driving the support brackets in two groupsof five along the support bar 22 in opposite direction symmetricallyabout the centerline of the support bar to spaced positions determinedby one of four pairs of stop members 27. The two stop members of eachpair are arranged in alignment on a. respective side of a stop bar 28 ofrectangular cross section which extends parallel with and adjacent tothe support bar 22, the different pairs being disposed on differentsides of the stop bar and the spacings between the members of each pairbeing chosen to cover a range of different spacings required between thetwo groups of support brackets 21',

the stop bar 28 is rotatably mounted in bearings 64 so that theappropriate pair of stop members 27 can be indexed by means of pistonand cylinder unit 29 until they lie in an operative position in whichthey can engage cooperating stop engaging lugs 70 (FIGS. 3 to 5) carriedby the upper end of the rear face of respective support brackets 21.

It will be appreciated that with the arrangement of groups of supportbrackets 21 described above, i.e., two groups of five, an equal numberof bricks forming a line of bricks may be readily set down symmetricallyabout the centerline of the support bar 22, and in order that an oddnumber of bricks may also be set down symmetrically about centerline ofthe support bar, this latter is provided with a locking device 31 whichcan hold the stop bar 28 in either of two fixed longitudinal positions,i.e., centrally of the support bar 22 for an equal number of bricks oroffset by half a brick length for an odd number of bricks.

A suitable drive unit for the arrangement is illustrated in diagrammaticform in FIG. 3. in this drive unit the two groups of five supportbrackets, which for convenience are denoted 32 and 33, respectively, andwhich are disposed on opposite sides of the centerline of the supportbar, are each arranged to be moved as a complete assembly. In order toproduce the movement of the bracket groups they are coupled in turn, viatwo separate single rope and pulley systems 34, 3S, respectively, todouble-acting piston and cylinder units 36, 37 located behind thesupport bar, the pistons rods of the units being connected to thebrackets by means of ropes 66, 68 passing around pulleys 72 at the endsof the support bar. Thus, each of the brackets of group 32 is fixed bymeans of cable clamps 67 to a respective rope 66 of the system 34, eachof the brackets of the group 33 being similarly clamped to the rope 68of the other system 35. In operation the units 36, 37, are actuated tomove the groups 32, 33, apart to spaced positions determined byrespective pair of stop members 27, each stop member of the pair lyingin the path of a cooperating lug on the outermost bracket of therespective group, and thereby arresting further movement of the group.The location of the stop members thus determine the spacing between thetwo groups of brackets and hence between the two groups of bricksdeposited thereby; it will be appreciated that in this arrangement thespacing between the bricks deposited by the platens of each group ofbrackets remains unchanged, but the spacing between the two groups ofbricks can readily be varied, as required, by rotating the stop bar tobring different pairs of stop members 27 into the operative position.Instead of the various brackets of a group being separately clamped tothe respective cable only one bracket of the group may be so clamped,the other brackets of the group being connected to the said one bracketso as to move with it in any convenient manner, for example, byinterconnecting links.

If, however, it is required to provide, say two-spaced groups on eachside of the centerline of the support bar 22 then an arrangement asshown in FIG. 4 may be employed; this arrangement is somewhat similar tothat previously described in that a pair of double-acting piston andcylinder units 36, 37 are located at the rear of the support bar 22 andare associated with ropes passing around pulleys at the ends of thesupport bar and connected to respective brackets by means of clamps 67.

However, in this arrangement two differentially acting rope and pulleysystems 38 and 39 are used for controlling the movement of the bracketson opposite sides of the said centerline.

Thus, on one side of the centerline the support brackets are in twogroups 40 and 41 and on the other side of the centerline the supportbrackets are in two further groups 42 and 43, respectively.Double-acting piston and cylinder units 36, 37 are employed, eachassociated with a continuous loop of rope 66, 68, respectively, the twoloops being coupled to pulleys 71 attached to the ends of the respectivepiston rods and passing around pulleys 72 at the ends of the support baras shown. One side of the loop of rope 66 of the system 38 is attachedby means of clamps to brackets of the group 40, and the other side ofthe loop of rope is clamped to the brackets on the other group 41.Similarly, the two sides of the loop of rope 68 of the system 39 areeach clamped to the support brackets of a respective group 42 and 43. Toachieve the spacing required of the groups, the units 36 and 37 areactuated to move their respective groups apart away from the centerlineas in the previous arrangement.

The stop bar in this arrangement, however, carries on each of its foursides a line of four stop members, two on each side of the centerline,and each arranged to engage a cooperating lug 70 on the outermostbracket of a respective group. Thus, referring to the system 38, as thetwo groups of brackets are moved outwards the lug 70 on the outerbracket of the innermost group 41 first engages stop 27.1 and the groupof brackets is thereby arrested. However, the outer group 40 continuesto move, through the differential action of the system, until the lug 70on the outermost bracket engages the outer stop 27.2 causing this secondgroup to be arrested at a spacing from the first group determined by thespacing of the two stop members 27.] and 27.2. The spacing betweensupport brackets of the same group will, however, remain the same sincethey are clamped to the same section of cable. The other system operatesin the same way. The stop members 27 must, of course, be so arrangedthat they do not interfere with a group of brackets with which they arenot associated. In order to achieve this the stops are of differentlength, as are the lugs 70, the arrangement being such that the lug ofthe outer bracket group 40 can pass by the stop 27.1 without beingengaged by it.

ln both arrangements described the double-acting piston and cylinderunits are again actuated, following the release of the bricks by thepickup head, to return the groups of brackets to their originalpositions.

It will be appreciated that if more than two-spaced groups are requiredon each side of the centerline of the support bar 22, then thearrangement described with reference to H0. 4 could be modified byadding appropriate pulleys in the rope and pulley systems to as toprovide that number of cables in each system equivalent to the number ofseparate groups required to be spaced by the system, additional pistonand cylinder units being provided where necessary, together with anappropriate number of stop members on the stop bar.

It will also be understood that single platens instead of groups ofplatens could be spaced along the support bar 22 by utilizingappropriate rope and pulley systems and piston and cylinder units, andone such arrangement is illustrated in part in FIG. 5.

This arrangement is similar to that illustrated in F l6. 4, but in thiscase a total of eight support brackets are employed, four on each sideof the centerline, but only one side of the arrangement and therespective rope and pulley system is illustrated for the sake ofclarity.

The respective differential rope and pulley system 38 in this casecomprises two double-ended double-acting piston and cylinder units 36,36A each associated with a loop of cable 66, 66A, respectively. Oppositesides of the loop of cable 66 are clamped to a respective one of theouter two brackets 21.], 21.2, and opposite sides of the loop of cable66A are clamped to a respective one of the inner two brackets 21.3,21.4.

Associated with the brackets on the stop bar are corresponding sets offour stop members 27.], 27.2, 27.3, 27.4, each of the brackets carryinga lug 70 engageable with a respective stop member.

The stops and bracket lugs 70 are of graduated length as shown so thatthe stop members do not interfere with the movement of the brackets withwhich they are not associated. Then in use of the arrangement as thesupport brackets are moved outwards by the respective piston andcylinder units, the brackets are stopped in turn by the respective stopmembers engaging the cooperating lugs, the brackets thus being spacedapart by amounts corresponding to the spacing of the stop members. Inorder to vary the spacing the stop bar can be rotated to bring otherstop members into the operative position. The brackets carried by thesupport bar 22 on the opposite side of the centerline are similarlyarrested in spaced positions by corresponding stop members 27 on thestop bar 28. FIG. 6 illustrates part of the arrangement showing the twoinnermost brackets on one side of the centerline and the cooperatingstop members. In this Figure also one of the platens 19.1 is shown inthe raised horizontal datum position into which the platens are pivotedfor engagement with the bricks at the pickup station, and also forsetting them down on their faces, and the platen 19.2 is shown in thevertical position into which the platens are pivoted for the settingdown of the bricks on edge. Normally, of course, all the platens will berotated together. In place of the piston and cylinder units other meansof obtaining the required movement of the platens can, of course,alternatively be employed.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 7 of the drawings, the pickup station 4comprises essentially a pair of longitudinal L-shaped members 45disposed back-to-back and each member is pivoted at points 46 near toits upper edge of its vertical limb 47 so as to be capable of movementthrough 90 by piston and cylinder units 48 to a position in which thevertical limb of the L" lies in a horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 1.Thus, in operation of the pickup station 4, the bricks are fed on edgeand in two streams by a suitable conveyor attangement 29 (see FIG. 1)towards the station and are guided one stream into each of thehorizontal limbs 50 of the L-shaped members 45 until the two streamsbutt against buffer stops provided at suitable positions along the saidmembers, said stops being movable to other selected positions dependingupon the number of bricks required to form a line. The members 45 arethen pivoted to their positions shown in FIG. 1 which has the effect ofmoving the bricks in an upward direction and at the same time turningthem so that a set of their faces are uppermost, the bricks then restingon individual support members 52 provided in the front faces of thelimbs 47.

It will be appreciated that the bricks B of the streams of bricks fed onthe members 45 are in abutting relationship (see FIG. 8) and it isdesirable to give clearance between these bricks prior to the pickuphead operating to pick up the bricks. This is achieved by slidablymounting the support members 52 in any convenient manner on the frontfaces of the limbs 47 of the L-shaped members 45, and connecting themembers 52 together by equally tensioned spring couplings 54. Further,each support member 52 is provided with a pair of gripping inserts 55(FIG. 7) which are movable from an inoperative position within the facesof the members 52, to an operative position projecting from said facesto grip the bricks fed onto the members 52.

Thus, after the members 45 have been pivoted to their positions shown inFIG. 1, gripping cylinder 56 is operated to move the inserts 55 to theiroperative position thus gripping their respective bricks and thereaftera first splitting cylinder 57 is operated to pull the support members 52apart (see FIG. 9) and to position the adjacent end support member 52Fand the respective brick under the corresponding platen member I9F ofthe pickup head.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a switch S associated with each member 45 isbrought into an operative position by means of hydraulic piston andcylinder unit 51. Then a further splitting cylinder 62 is operated topull on the rear support member 52R thereby producing a furtherseparation of the support members, this separation continuing until thelast brick of the line engages the switch S. The brick carried by thissupport member is then correctly positioned for engagement with therespective platen member of the pickup head represented at 19R. Theequally tensioned spring couplings 54 insure that the support membersare uniformly spaced apart so that each of the bricks is similarlybrought beneath a respective platen member.

In operation, the machine is required to build up packs'of bricks ontokiln cars 53 (see FIG. 1) which are fed onto the rotatable platform 5 inturns as each pack of bricks is completed, and the complete cycle ofoperations required of the apparatus to successively build up packs ofbricks onto the kiln cars is carried out automatically by a suitabledigital control system and interlock system, these systems controllingthe various driving mechanisms of the apparatus to achieve a desiredsetting pattern of the packs, the supply of bricks to the pickupstation, and the movement of the kiln cars.

Thus, assuming a kiln car to be already in position on the rotatableplatform, a complete cycle of operations required of the brick-handlingmachine would be as follows:

1. Two lines of bricks are fed to the pickup station, turned faceupwards by the upward pivoting of the support members and then separatedto bring them under the respective platen members as above described.

2. Then with the two groups of platens 19 in their closed pickupposition symmetrically disposed about the center of the support bar 22,and the carriage 2 positioned over the pickup station 4, the pickup head6 descends to engage the two lines of bricks presented at said pickupstation.

3. Where bricks are required, vacuum is applied to the vacuum pads 24 ofthe platens.

4. Pickup head 6 rises to lift the two lines of bricks from the pickupstation 4.

5. the support members 52 of the pickup station 4 are pushed togetherand the members 45 are turned down with bricks not required for thiscycle, further bricks being fed on to the pickup station in readinessfor the next cycle.

6. The stop bar 28 is indexed to its appropriate position giving therequired line of stop members 27 for the longitudinal pattern requiredfor the lines of bricks.

7. The carriage 2 is moved along its gantry 1 towards the platform 5 andduring this movement, the drive arrangement 30 for the platens 19 isactuated to pull the two groups of platens outwards from the center ofthe support bar 22 to their spaced positions on the latter.

8. If required, when the carriage 2 has moved the pickup head 6sufficiently far from the pickup station 4, the platens are turned downthrough to enable bricks to be set down on edge.

9. The carriage is stopped at its appropriate position over the kiln car53, and then pickup head 6 descends to the level of the layer beingformed and the bricks are released by breaking the vacuum of the padswith compressed air.

10. When the lines of bricks have been released, the head uses.

1 l. The carriage 2 returns along the gantry l and during this movementthe drive arrangement 30 operates to reset the platens 19 in theirclosed positions as in (2).

12. Operations (l) to (II) are then repeated until a layer comprising apreselected number of lines of bricks is completed.

13. Operations (1) to (12) are then repeated to from the next layer ofbricks, but if the next layer of bricks is required to be laid with itslines of bricks extending transversely to the previous layer, theturntable 5 is first turned to its appropriate position.

We claim:

1. A brick-handling apparatus comprising:

a carriage mounted on a gantry for movement between a pickup station anda release station,

and a pickup head mounted for up and down movement on the carriage thepickup head comprising a plurality of aligned platen members capable ofpicking up a selectively predetermined number of bricks disposed inlongitudinal alignment at the pickup station and of releasing them atthe release station,

wherein the platen members are carried by support brackets which areslidably mounted on a horizontal support to permit the platen members tobe moved from their pickup positions of the support to spaced positionsalong the support,

driving means including piston and cylinder units each associated with agroup of at least one support bracket and coupled thereto through a ropeand pulley system for producing said movement of the platen membersalong the support following the engagement of the bricks by the platenmembers,

and stop means incorporating a plurality of axially fixed stop membersdisposed at spaced positions adjacent the support for arresting theplaten members in positions corresponding to the spaces required betweenthe bricks released at said release station.

2. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said drivingmeans includes at least two piston and cylinder units operable toproduce a separation of the respective support brackets, and whereinsaid stop means is in the form of a bar extending parallel to thesupport and having the stop member disposed at fixed stop positionsalong it.

3. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the stop barhas a plurality of lines of stop members having different sets ofspacings disposed around its axis and the stop bar is rotatably mountedto permit an appropriate line of stop members to be brought into anoperative position for arresting the platen members in positionscorresponding to the spacing of the stop members in that line.

4. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said drivingmeans includes a drive member common to two or more support brackets anda differentially acting pulley system providing a continuous drive tothe respective support brackets and permitting each to be stopped inturn by its respective stop member while allowing the movement of theremaining bracket or brackets to continue until all have been arrestedin their required spaced positions.

5. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the drivemember comprises a double-acting hydraulic or pneumatic piston andcylinder unit arranged to act on the said differentially acting pulleysystem.

6. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 1, in which the platenmembers carry vacuum pickup pads adapted for engaging and picking up aselected number of bricks from a line of bricks at the pickup stationand for setting the bricks down in a line at the release station,wherein the platen members are pivoted to the separable support bracketsso that they are capable of movement through between a horizontal planeand a vertical plane to permit the bricks carried thereby to beselectively set down at the release station either on their edges ortheir faces.

7. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 1, including at thepickup station a main support carrying a line of support members, meansfor feeding bricks in abutting end-toend relationship longitudinallyonto the support from one end of the line of members, stop means forarresting the movement of the bricks when the leading brick reaches thefurthest support member, each support member being positioned for asupporting a respective brick, separating means for producing a uniformseparation of the support members when the bricks are supported therebyso as to space apart the bricks to positions corresponding to the pickuppositions of the aligned platen members on their support.

8. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 7, wherein theseparating means includes a first drive member designed to move saidfurthest support member in the direction of feed of the bricks so as toproduce an initial separation of the support members, and for stoppingsaid movement when the brick supported by said furthest support memberoccupies a position corresponding to the pickup position of therespectrve platen member, so as to hold the support member in thisposition, a second drive member designed to move the support member atthe opposite end of the line in the opposite direction to produce afurther separation of the support members, and for arresting saidmovement when the brick supported by said opposite end support memberoccupies a position corresponding to the pickup position of therespective platen member, and means coupling the support members whichpermits them to be separated but maintains a uniform spacing betweenthem.

9. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 8, including switchmeans position so as to be engaged and actuated by the brick carried bysaid opposite end support member when the brick reaches a positioncorresponding to the pickup position of the respective platen member,the actuation of which switch terminates the operation of said seconddrive member.

10. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 9, wherein adjacentpairs of supports are connected by equally tensioned spring couplings.

1. A brick-handling apparatus comprising: a carriage mounted on a gantryfor movement between a pickup station and a release station, and apickup head mounted for up and down movement on the carriage the pickuphead comprising a plurality of aligned platen members capable of pickingup a selectively predetermined number of bricks disposed in longitudinalalignment at the pickup station and of releasing them at the releasestation, wherein the platen members are carried by support bracketswhich are slidably mounted on a horizontal support to permit the platenmembers to be moved from their pickup positions on the support to spacedpositions along the support, driving means including piston and cylinderunits each associated with a group of at least one support bracket andcoupled thereto through a rope and pulley system for producing saidmovement of the platen members along the support following theengagement of the bricks by the platen members, and stop meansincorporating a plurality of axially fixed stop members disposed atspaced positions adjacent the support for arresting the platen membersin positions corresponding to the spaces required between the bricksreleased at said release station.
 2. A brick-handling apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said driving means includes at least twopiston and cylinder units operable to produce a separation of therespective support brackets, and wherein said stop means is in the formof a bar extending parallel tO the support and having the stop memberdisposed at fixed stop positions along it.
 3. A brick-handling apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the stop bar has a plurality of lines ofstop members having different sets of spacings disposed around its axisand the stop bar is rotatably mounted to permit an appropriate line ofstop members to be brought into an operative position for arresting theplaten members in positions corresponding to the spacing of the stopmembers in that line.
 4. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim3, wherein said driving means includes a drive member common to two ormore support brackets and a differentially acting pulley systemproviding a continuous drive to the respective support brackets andpermitting each to be stopped in turn by its respective stop memberwhile allowing the movement of the remaining bracket or brackets tocontinue until all have been arrested in their required spacedpositions.
 5. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 4, whereinthe drive member comprises a double-acting hydraulic or pneumatic pistonand cylinder unit arranged to act on the said differentially actingpulley system.
 6. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 1, inwhich the platen members carry vacuum pickup pads adapted for engagingand picking up a selected number of bricks from a line of bricks at thepickup station and for setting the bricks down in a line at the releasestation, wherein the platen members are pivoted to the separable supportbrackets so that they are capable of movement through 90* between ahorizontal plane and a vertical plane to permit the bricks carriedthereby to be selectively set down at the release station either ontheir edges or their faces.
 7. A brick-handling apparatus according toclaim 1, including at the pickup station a main support carrying a lineof support members, means for feeding bricks in abutting end-to-endrelationship longitudinally onto the support from one end of the line ofmembers, stop means for arresting the movement of the bricks when theleading brick reaches the furthest support member, each support memberbeing positioned for a supporting a respective brick, separating meansfor producing a uniform separation of the support members when thebricks are supported thereby so as to space apart the bricks topositions corresponding to the pickup positions of the aligned platenmembers on their support.
 8. A brick-handling apparatus according toclaim 7, wherein the separating means includes a first drive memberdesigned to move said furthest support member in the direction of feedof the bricks so as to produce an initial separation of the supportmembers, and for stopping said movement when the brick supported by saidfurthest support member occupies a position corresponding to the pickupposition of the respective platen member, so as to hold the supportmember in this position, a second drive member designed to move thesupport member at the opposite end of the line in the opposite directionto produce a further separation of the support members, and forarresting said movement when the brick supported by said opposite endsupport member occupies a position corresponding to the pickup positionof the respective platen member, and means coupling the support memberswhich permits them to be separated but maintains a uniform spacingbetween them.
 9. A brick-handling apparatus according to claim 8,including switch means positioned so as to be engaged and actuated bythe brick carried by said opposite end support member when the brickreaches a position corresponding to the pickup position of therespective platen member, the actuation of which switch terminates theoperation of said second drive member.
 10. A brick-handling apparatusaccording to claim 9, wherein adjacent pairs of supports are connectedby equally tensioned spring couplings.